The Equine Expansion
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Penny decides that she wants to do something with her friends that isn't related to Physics or science fiction. This has NO pairings, it's just a friendship story. Slight adventure, nothing too dramatic, just fun for the fivesome.
1. Suggestion

**So I'm trying to write something that doesn't promote any of the possible pairings on this show. Oh, I'm still a hard-core Leonard/Penny fan, but I thought I'd write something showing the fivesome as friends. I'm working on another, Christmas-themed friendship fic, but this one is easier to organize so I thought I'd start to publish it first.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely NADA!**

When Penny finished explaining what she'd signed herself and the guys up for, there was a silence for a long moment. She'd expected that; she knew they hadn't expected this when she said she had been looking for something for them to do together.

"On actual horses?" Sheldon asked in surprise, breaking the silence.

"Have you ever actually ridden one of those things before?" Leonard asked Penny, who'd suggested the whole thing.

"I grew up on a farm," Penny responded. "I _owned_ one of _those things_ before. Actually, my dad's still got him at the ranch. His name is Buster."

"Not relevant to the situation, but noted," said Sheldon from his desk chair.

"Anyways, what's the big deal? We'd just be walking. It's not like I've planned a gung-ho cattle drive with us riding horses like the Black."

"Who?" Howard asked.

"From the children's books about…never mind." Penny shook her head. "I read into the place; it's a two hour ride in the country at a walk, on well-trained trail horses."

"Explain again why you want us to do this?" Leonard requested.

Penny sighed. "Come on, guys. I've spent years living in your world, and I want to us to do something from mine. Come on, it's just a few hours on Thursday, which _is_, as you've told me, Anything Can Happen Thursday."

"Well, count me in then," Leonard said. "It'll be exciting."

"Good. Raj, Howard, Sheldon?" Penny looked at them. "How about it?"

Raj leaned over, and Howard listened patiently. "You think it'd be _exciting?_" He questioned. "Are you crazy?"

"Come on, Howard," Penny said. "It'll be like in the _Star Wars_ movie, when they were in the execution ring and started to ride the Reek around the arena?"

Four heads turned abruptly to look at her. "What?" she asked after a moment.

"Nothing," Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard said at the same time that Raj shrugged.

At her words, Howard had put on a thoughtful expression. "That part _was_ cool, I'm in!"

"I'm not."

Four head turned abruptly again. "Okay," Penny said. "Why not?"

Sheldon looked at her like she was crazy. "I do not even like to pilot a car, an object with no means of thinking or reason. What makes you think I'm going to clamber aboard the back of an animal with a mentality of its own, primitive as it may be?"

"They don't have horses in Texas or something?" She asked.

"They do. I had enough of them by the time I was four."

"Sheldon," Leonard said with a hint of exasperation, "what if we-"

"May I also mention how unpredictable those creatures are? My brother rode those things and they just about broke his back!"

"These are trail horses," Penny said. "They're the sweetest things ever. They aren't wild or the type to buck you off."

"As I've mentioned many times, no one ever thinks it'll happen until it does, and this is no cannibalism theory, Penny. This is an animal that is generally accepted to be dangerous, prone to biting, kicking, and making attempts to remove it's rider from its back."

"Ugh." Penny rolled her eyes. "If you go on this ride I've arranged, I promise I'll drive you to work, pottery barn, the comic book store…anywhere you want, when Leonard begins working nights again next week." Although Sheldon could drive, and had proven this on occasion, he hated every second he was behind the wheel, and Penny was relying on his aversion to piloting motorized vehicles in making her bargain.

Sheldon thought for a second. "Fair enough."

"Great." Penny couldn't help grinning. For months she'd been searching for something that they could all do together, and when Bernadette had mentioned a trail riding place she'd gone to with their friend Rachel, Penny's old horseback riding memories surfaced and she called the place up, eager to introduce the guys to something new. She was pleasantly surprised that they-even Sheldon-had agreed so easily. She looked over at the theoretical physicist, not surprised at what she saw.

The wackadoodle was already online, trying to learn horseback riding.

**I was thinking about how Penny's going to their physics bowl things, and playing their games like Mystic Warlords of Ka-a, and how they don't do stuff she does. Now, I don't know if she rides horses, but I thought about the stuff that I do, (since I'll know about it enough to write for!) and I tried to make a story out of one of those things. Let me know what you think, I really do pay attention to reviews.**

**Oh, and for those of you waiting for more of The Third Party Accumulation, it's coming, but I need to spend more time proofing the next chapter before it goes up.**


	2. Drive

**I had this all typed out and ready to post. Then I lost my flashdrive. Then I found a rough outline of this in a notebook and decided to retype it all out. I'm upset because this is only basically the version I had and wanted to post. Hope this isn't too bad…**

"Are we still in California?" Leonard asked, trying to read the map.

"Yep," Penny affirmed. "We're just pretty far away from any major city."

"Yeah, I don't see any buildings," he commented.

"Your powers of observation continue to impress me," Sheldon said from the backseat. He hated being back there, but Penny insisted on driving, and Leonard got nauseated unless he sat in the front.

"Do you guys have to be in such foul moods?" Penny asked. "Did I do THIS much complaining about Mystic Warlords of Ka?"

"It's Ka-a," Howard corrected.

"And yeah, you did," Leonard said. "You actually quit."

"Apples and oranges, Leonard!" She turned to glare at Howard, who was still muttering "Ka-a."

"Eyes on the road!" Leonard and Sheldon snapped at the same time.

Penny's head whipped around. "You guys, there's nothing to hit out here!"

"Who issued you a driver's license, anyway?" Sheldon muttered.

"I'm not that stupid, Sheldon," she argued.

"Intelligence has no correlation. Albert Einstein didn't have a driver's license."

"Sheldon," Penny said in her sweetest voice, "would you like a repeat of what happened when you wanted me to drive you to work?"

"I would not."

"So shut up!"

Sheldon shut up.

"Here it is," Penny said, pointing ahead to an archway that seemed to be over a fenced driveway leading to a mountain of rock, where it disappeared from view. She turned onto it.

"If it is, it's longer than Euclid Avenue," Howard observed.

"Let's hope it has less speed bumps."

"Sheldon!"

"Oops."

Penny's car bumped it's way up the road. "I hope we don't run out of gas," she said.

"Now you think of that?" Leonard and Howard said at the exact same time. Raj looked alarmed as well.

"Well, I'll be getting a little worried if we don't reach the end of this driveway soon."

"As the driver of the vehicle, you are responsible for the lives of everyone in the car. If I continue to risk my…damn, this is hard!"

The parking lot, when the reached it, was empty, save for a truck and dumpster. Farther down was a barn and muddy pastures, each housing a few muddy equines. One of them was clearly older, with a swayback and duller coat. "He looks like he's been around the block a few times," Leonard commented.

Sheldon made an impatient sound but didn't say anything.

"What was that Sheldon?"

"If I am permitted to speak again…"

"You are not. I'm afraid," she said sweetly, "that was your second strike…"

Raj whispered something to Howard. "The first strike was the speed bump mention," Wolowitz answered.

"Strikes?" Leonard asked under his breath, grinning at her.

Penny grinned. "He can dish it; he'd better learn to take it!" She looked in the rearview mirror at Sheldon. "I'm just messing with you."

They got out of the car, and a middle aged woman in jeans and a western shirt came out to greet them. "Mornin'!"

Wolowitz perked up. "Well…hello there, mistress of the open range."

Leonard glared at him, and then turned to the woman. "Hi, we're-"

"You're my nine o' clock," she sat matter of factly. "The lady who called me-I presume that would be you, Miss, warned me about a short man with too tight pants that would say something creepy within moments of arriving."

Howard was surprised, but he covered it well. "Always happy to be of service, madam." He tipped the western hat he had brought. Penny met the eyes of Leonard and Sheldon and they all shook their heads.

**Make sure y'all let me know if you feel I'm implying any pairing at all-because THIS time, I'm going to stay with them all as friends! No Bernadette either, or Raj's new girl…just the fivesome and just friends!**


	3. Leg Up

**I can't believe how many months it has been since I updated this. I am SO sorry! This is why I need to figure out where I am going with a fic before launching into it, and not write every little idea that comes into my head until IP fics are finished. Anyway, I know where I'm going with this now, so hopefully I'll be able to keep updating, now that it's summer. I hope a few of my readers will pick up reading this again…**

"So have any of y'all ridden before?" The lady asked of the group once they were inside a somewhat run down building.

"I have," Penny said. "I used to ride a lot. These fellas are rookies."

"Excuse me, but…"

"I don't care what your I.Q. is, Sheldon, you're a rookie."

"Yeah, buddy, relax a little," Howard said under his breath. "Actually, don't; it'll make me look better. What was your name again?" He asked the lady.

"Gloria. And I'm married," said the woman in Howard's direction. "So," she said, easing back on topic, "You have ridden before, miss, but the rest of you haven't?"

"Very little experience on plotting Shetland ponies as a toddler," Sheldon said. "Plus a few hours on a simulator, as well as that shiny pink machine outside of the K-Mart that my mother loved making me ride."

"Mmmm." Gloria made a few marks on a clipboard. "Okay, y'all come on out to the paddock with me."

Penny and Howard followed willingly, Raj, Sheldon, and Leonard trailed behind, looking a little unsure of themselves.

"Okay," Gloria said, pointing at Raj. "You're the one who can't talk to me, yes?"

Raj nodded, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"This is going to be a little bit of a problem. I'm going to give you the gelding we usually use in rescue and for the disabled kids. He's really steady-that's why we use him in those situations-so that will minimize the odds of you needing to call out for help." She untied a brown horse. "His name is Linus."

"From the Charlie Brown cartoons," Penny told the other guys under her breath.

Gloria gave Penny her mount next, a big-boned chestnut who was called Flash. Penny could tell that Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard were disappointed that she got the horse by that name. When Penny hoisted herself into Flash's big, bulky western saddle, she remembered Buster, her thin-boned mount from home. She was going to be sore tomorrow, holding herself in the wide-backed gelding's saddle.

Gloria showed Raj how to steer, and instructed him and Penny to walk their geldings around the perimeter while she matched Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard up.

Flash was going to be a little headstrong once they were out on the trail, Penny knew. He kept tossing his head and trying to cut the corners of the ring. She wasn't concerned; a horse like this would only be a problem for a beginner. She just had to nudge him a few times to remind him who was boss.

She was happy. She'd always preferred the city, and she loved driving around in cars, but one could never change where they came from, and she'd grown up in the country, with tractors, cows, and horses, and as she ambled around on a horse and in the middle of nowhere, she felt at home.

It was even better that her best friends in the world-and Howard-were with her. They'd become such a big part of her life, and she'd been spending so much time in their world, that she wanted to share part of hers with them. It made so much to her that they'd all agreed to do this…

"Penny? _Penny!_"

Penny realized a few seconds afterward that someone had called her name. She turned in the saddle to see Leonard behind her, clearly off-balance. As she turned, he slid out of the saddle and landed on his side in the dirt. "Oof," he said as he hit the ground.

Penny stopped Flash and vaulted off. "What happened? She asked as Leonard picked himself up. She took hold of his horse's rein even though the mare had stopped as soon as the weight was off of her back.

"I lost my stirrup. It's too long. And that woman made me wear these awful shoes…" He trailed off.

Penny almost started laughing. Cowboy boots didn't go well with what Leonard wore. "It's safe to wear those boots. They have a heel so your foot won't get caught in the stirrup if you fall. If that happens, you could get dragged and…"

She stopped when she saw that Leonard was trying not to laugh. "I can tell that you are in your element," he said, "because you sound like us when we talk Science."

"Let me give you a leg up before Sheldon notices that you've fallen. You'll never hear the end of it."

"A leg-what?"

Penny laughed. She was enjoying this _way_ too much. "Face the mare," she told him. "What's her name, anyway?"

Leonard made a face. "Lassie."

"Okay. Face Lassie. You're going to bend your left leg and raise your knee up. I'm going to hold your leg, my left hand at your knee and my right at your ankle. Hold the front of the saddle with your left hand, and the back with your right. Then when I say to, jump as high as you can off of your right leg, and I'm going to throw you into the air as hard as I can. Then you can settle in the saddle. And let your hips swing a little with Lassie's movement, so you can balance better. Don't be stiff."

"That is a lot of information you're feeding at me at one time."

"Let's start with the leg up, okay?" Penny said, grinning.

Leonard stood next to the mare and bent his leg. Penny took hold of it, trying not to laugh as her right hand closed around the cowboy boot. "On three," she said. "One…two…three!"

Leonard jumped higher than Penny anticipated which resulted in her almost tossing him off the other side. "Easy, Lassie!" She said to the mare, who sidestepped anxiously when Leonard's stomach hit her back.

The spook was a blessing in disguise, as it helped center Leonard over her back. He managed to wiggle into position and get his feet in the stirrups. He took the reins, then noticed the expression on Penny's face. "Shut up," he warned.

"Not telling," she promised.

Leonard's face had clouded over. "Well…" Penny followed his gaze. Raj was at the other side of the ring, pointing at them and grinning. He'd clearly seen it all-if not the fall, the leg up. At least he wouldn't be able to say anything until Penny and Gloria weren't around.

"Hey, at least if Sheldon starts in, we can point out _that!_" Penny said, pointing. Sheldon was sitting on the back of a tiny black horse, leaning up on her neck and clutching the mane with a panicked expression on his face. Gloria walked beside him, looking as if she was trying to get him to relax.

Penny went back over to Flash and hopped into the saddle. _Oh boy, _she thought, nudging her gelding into a walk. This was going to be fun.

She just hoped that once she'd gotten a little fun out of watching the guys, they'd be able to relax and enjoy it, too. Looking at Leonard and Sheldon, she wasn't so sure.

Looking at Raj, however, Penny could believe. He was grinning at Howard, waving his right arm in the air like he was swinging a lasso. Penny couldn't help but smile.

**Penny is, at one point, going to have a mini-storyline with each of them, so I'm not trying to go shippy with having her help Leonard in this one. He just happens to be the first one to show his lack of knowledge in this area. :)**


	4. FleaBitten Gray

**Here's the next chapter! Not entirely happy with it, but…I hate going so long between updates.**

"Okay," said Gloria, swinging easily into the saddle of her own mount. "Let's head out. Everyone remembers how to steer?" The group nodded. "Then let's shove off."

"She sounds like my mother," Sheldon mumbled. "I am not going to enjoy this."

Penny turned to look at him. "Sheldon, it's not going to be that bad."

"It's not going to be that bad?"

"Here we go," Leonard mumbled.

Penny glanced up to make sure that Gloria wasn't hearing Sheldon rant. Luckily-or unluckily-Howard was walking his mount next to her, chatting a mile a minute. "Oh boy," she said, rolling her eyes.

"As long as he doesn't go into the translation of pumpernickel, we should be okay," Leonard joked.

"As I was _saying_," Sheldon said, "you, Penny, have made us spend a day traipsing around in the desert atop plotting ungulates with Howard Wolowitz, who will likely spend the entire time hitting on the woman on the white horse."

Penny perked up. This conversation could be fun after all. "Flea-bitten gray."

"And the inevitable rejection will only…what?"

"Flea-bitten gray," Penny said. "'White' horses are extremely rare, they only occur when the horse's skin is pink all over, with no darker coloring on the legs, ears and muzzle. All other horses that appear to be white are actually gray, and 'white' colored horses with tiny brown spots flecked all over their bodies are called flea-bitten grays. Didn't they teach you this in the panhandle?"

Leonard was smirking, Raj was biting his sleeve to keep from laughing, and while Gloria continued staring straight ahead, Howard turned around in the saddle, steadied himself, and nodded at Penny. "_Burn_," he said slowly, enunciating the word to show his appreciation for Penny rendering Sheldon temporarily speechless.

However, the theoretical physicist was never mute for long when his larynx was uninflamed. "That's northwest Texas," Sheldon said. "I'm from East Texas, and as I've told you before, I have a working knowledge of the important things in the universe. Topics discussed on your 'Radiohead' may include that of the flea-bitten gray, but the technical terms of equine coloring will not help me unravel the mysteries of the universe."

"Sheldon, sweetie," Penny said sweetly, "can you just try to enjoy yourself? I played Pictionary with you before, remember? And 20 questions?"

"You only did that because you made me watch that awful movie about the time-traveling mailbox."

"Okay, so think of it this way," she said. "I'm gonna regret this, but…I owe you one."

"Mistake," Howard said, turning around again.

"Will you make sure my chicken with broccoli is diced, not shredded?"

"Yes."

"Even though the menu description-"

"Yes!" she snapped.

"Everything okay back there?" Gloria called.

"We're good!" Penny said, smiling.

"Okay, we're going to be heading up a fairly steep hill here," she said.

"Oh really?" Sheldon said. "That's how we're getting past the mountain in our way?"

"Sheldon!"

Sheldon smiled. "That, Penny, was sarcasm."

She shook her head, smiling. "Yes, Sheldon, I know."

"Are you guys listening?" Gloria called back. There was about ten yards between her and Howard and the rest of the group. She leaned back and her mare halted. "When we get there, I want y'all to lean forward and loosen your reins so the horses can keep their momentum. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Got it."

"Got it."

"Got it."

Raj gave a thumbs up.

"Good." Gloria smiled. She turned to make sure Raj was okay, and then smiled at Penny. "You guys are a fun group."

Penny smiled. Those were her nerdy guys.


	5. Wingwoman

**Okay, not much happens in this chapter; Penny gives Howard advice on being a creep…that's pretty much it! There will be one or two more chapters after this.**

"There's a nice view up ahead," said Gloria. "Y'all can dismount and take a few pictures of the valley; there's a nice river running through it; and I'll make sure the girths are still nice and tight."

Howard looked unsure. "If I get off will I be able to…you know…get back on?"

"You'll be plenty sore tomorrow," said Gloria, "but you'll be able to get back on all right now." We've only been riding forty minutes, so if you're in any sort of physical condition you should be handling it all right."

Howard groaned. "Okay."

"Look at the bright side," Sheldon said. "She didn't say that you weren't in any sort of physical condition."

"Hah! Good one!" Penny laughed, grinning at Sheldon.

Sheldon looked confused. "What did I say?"

"Here we are," Gloria said. "Now, dismounting. All you do is swing your right leg over the horse's rump, let your feet out of the stirrups, and drop to the ground." She demonstrated, landing easily on her feet and putting the reins over her shoulder. "Here, hon," she said to Sheldon, taking his mount's reins. "Give it a try."

Penny didn't watch Sheldon and Leonard dismounting; she got off her horse and went to help Howard, who had swung his leg over his horse's rump, but was holding onto the saddle as if he was afraid of falling to the ground. "Just drop, Howard, it's not that far."

"Easy for you to say, you're taller than me!"

Penny stood about two feet behind him. "Come on, you look ridiculous," she said. "Just let go of the saddle."

Howard let go and fell to the ground, stumbling backward. Penny caught him, stepping backward into her horse's shoulder. Luckily, the horse didn't move. Clearly he was used to it. "Are you okay, Shorty?" she asked, laughing.

"Yeah…" Howard shrugged, turning around to face her. "Maybe…maybe a little embarrassed, but…" he shifted uncomfortably.

"How so?" Penny asked.

"Come on! None of us can do this! I mean, look at him!" he pointed to Leonard, who was struggling to get his leg over his horse's back. "He can't even get off of the thing!" Howard noticed his horse taking leaves off of the nearby tree, and he reached out to take the rein.

"Every girl in California is going to hate me for this," Penny said, "but why don't you use what you learn here to help pick up girls?"

Howard perked up. "Like how?"

"Well," Penny said. "You could learn about horses, and maybe use it to impress them. There's a lot of terminology, and even if it isn't anything fancy, or even difficult to remember, most girls near L.A. wouldn't know it, and you'd sound really smart."

"I have a master's degree!"

"Girls love horses, Howard, a lot more than engineering." Penny cocked her head. "Think about it. You'd appear to know a lot about what they'd be interested in. You wouldn't have to lie as much as usual, which would lower your odds of being slapped." She smiled, knowing how Howard's brain worked and thinking that she had a good chance of getting Howard to come away from this experience with a positive attitude.

Howard appeared to be mulling it over. Penny grinned, watching him. She pulled her camera out of her pocket and snapped a photograph of the valley. It really was pretty. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Leonard standing by his horse, staring up at the sky. "Eagle!" He said, pointing upward. Penny raised her camera and pressed the button. "What was that?" Leonard asked, looking at her.

"I got you, the horse, and the eagle!" she said excitedly.

"Someone give her a medal," Sheldon said under his breath. Penny stuck her tongue out at him.

"Okay, I'm in." Howard stood beside Penny. "Tell me about these guys."

"Sheldon's a theoretical physicist, Leonard does experimental work. They both really love sci-fi…"

"No no, I mean the horses!" Howard laughed.

"I knew that," Penny said, laughing along with him. "But ground rules. You can't use any of these lines on me."

"Fine."

"Or Bernadette."

"Fine."

"And if you ever meet my sister; not here either. She's married."

"Fine." Howard put his head to the side. "An-neigh thing else?"

She shook her head playfully. "No word play."

"You're not giving me much leeway here."

"That's all the rules," Penny said. "Ready?" At Howard's nod, she continued. "An adult male horse is a stallion, unless he's gelded-castrated-and that makes him a gelding. An adult female horse is called a mare. A foal-a baby horse-has a sire and a dam. Sire is the father, dam is the mother." She looked at Howard. "Are you getting this?"

Howard nodded. "I have a few stallion lines I can use."

Penny made a face. "Save it for the bars, okay?" She raised an eyebrow at him until he nodded. "Good. Oh, and the front leg of a horse is called the foreleg, in case you have any disgusting lines about foreplay."

Howard thought for a moment, and then gave Penny an impressed look. "Nice. You'd make a great wingman."

Penny knew that he'd meant it as a compliment, so she decided to take it as one. "Thanks, Howard."

"Hey!"

Penny and Howard looked in the direction of the voice. Gloria and Leonard stood by the edge, where the Earth tilted downward into the valley. Sheldon stood a few feet away, staring at the gentle drop with a look of fear. "Do y'all want a picture together?" Gloria asked.

"Sure!" Penny tugged on her horse's rein and walked it up to where the others were standing. Howard followed her, and Gloria helped them get the horses in line. Gloria took Penny's camera from her. "This button?" She asked, her finger on the corner of the device. Penny nodded. "Okay!" Gloria remounted her horse and rode a few paces away. "Smile, everyone!"

**That was my first ever Penny/Howard friendship scene, so…sorry if it sucked serious ice. We don't get much of H/P friendship on the show so I didn't have much to go on…hope you liked it okay… **


	6. These Are My People

**I re-read my last chapter to get a feel for this one, and I saw my last A/N…we totally got a Howard/Penny friendship scene last night! It was great!**

**Anyway…here's the last chapter! (And may Kaley make a full recovery and not get hurt riding ever again!)**

The ride back to the stable was much quieter and less eventful. Penny assumed it was because the guys were tired; they all were bracing themselves on their mounts' necks instead of sitting up. Raj looked particularly tired, even more so than Leonard, who's lack of gusto in grade school P.E. was apparently catching up to him once again.

Raj's horse veered too close to the edge of the trail and a tree branch smacked him square in the face before he realized what was happening. Penny, Howard, and Leonard snickered, and he gave them a warning look. "You're so terrifying," Penny teased. Raj looked confused, then smiled and shrugged. "You're never going to be able to talk to me, are you?" She asked him, cocking her head. "Am I never going to have a conversation with you?" Raj looked like he was about to say something, like he often did, but he sighed and shook his head, like he always did.

"You know what we can do?" She asked, cocking her head. "That doesn't involve talking?" Raj gave her an incredulous and somewhat confused look. "Relax," Penny said. "It's PG-Rated."

"PG?" He said, the "G" coming out as a squeak.

Penny raised her eyebrow. "Yep!" She put a hand into her saddlebag and drew out a long, thin piece of plastic. "Western trail rides don't often have riding crops with them, but this place gives them to us just in case a rank beginner can't get a horse moving with her legs. Exhibit A, Leonard Hofstadter."

Raj followed Penny's gaze to the experimental physicist just ahead of them, attempting to get his horse moving to no avail. Spotting him, Gloria spun her mount around, withdrew the whip from Leonard's saddlebag, and gave his mount a smart tap on the rump in one smooth motion. The mare plodded forward.

Raj was smirking. "Take yours," Penny said, motioning to the bag. Raj withdrew the crop and held it up. Penny took hers in her hand, swung it slowly outward, and hit it against Raj's. He looked confused for another moment, and then lifted his own crop, bringing it down against hers. Penny pushed her whip back upward, resisting Raj's. They started speeding up, not hard core fighting but making it look more realistic. Both were grinning, Raj from ear to ear. The horses continued on the trail, following their herd instincts, trailing the others without much care of what their riders were doing.

"Hey!"

Raj and Penny jumped, looking ahead. Gloria was giving them an odd look. "You guys are lucky that these guys aren't spooky-that can be dangerous!" She shook her head. "Swordfighting on horseback," she muttered under her breath.

"I believe they were engaged in a mock lightsaber duel," Sheldon said. "The moves they were making are classically displayed in…"

"Sheldon," Howard said politely.

"Yes?"

"Shut up!"

Gloria shook her head, muttering something, and faced forward again. Penny glanced at Raj and grinned. He grinned back, giving her the double thumbs up.

* * *

They returned to the stable and dismounted-Howard and Leonard were better the second time-and they thanked Gloria for her time. "No problem at all," Gloria said. "You're an amusing bunch. You going to come back?"

"Not in fourteen billion years," Sheldon muttered, loud enough for Penny to hear but not anyone else.

Raj leaned over and whispered to Howard. "Yeah, I enjoyed it, too," he said, nodding. "We'll be back to roam the open range again, ma'am."

"Glad to hear it, son," Gloria said good-naturedly, touching her cowboy hat and nodding. She tied the last mount, Leonard's, to the post and patted it's rump. "My next group arrives in fifteen minutes, and I got some paperwork to do, so I'm going to head up to the office now. Hope y'all had a good time."

"We did," Penny said. "Thank you."

"Thank you," the guys echoed. Raj nodded, smiling.

"So, guys," Penny said, stepping backward so she could see them as they moved toward her car. "What did you think?"

"I gotta say," Leonard said, glancing at the other guys. "It was really, really fun."

"It was," Howard said, smirking. "I got some great new lines."

Sheldon looked deep in thought. "It was fairly relaxing…apparently the animals here lack the plotting intelligence of Texan equines. The most fun I've had in a long time. FYI, that last sentence is a Bazinga," he informed them.

"_Of_ course it was," Penny said, shaking her head. The guys smiled at her, and it caused her smile to grow bigger. "Really?" She asked incredulously but jovial. "You guys enjoyed it?"

They nodded. Penny squealed and jumped toward them, trying to wrap her arms around all four of them at once. "I love you guys," she said happily. "Howard," she warned. "Stop sniffing my hair."

"Sorry."

Penny pulled back and reached into her pocket for her keys. "Let's hope I have the gas to get home."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the gang was, once again, on a long, empty road. This time, however, there was no bantering, arguing, or laughing. This time, the four guys were sound asleep.

Penny glanced in the review mirror. Raj and Howard were completely out, heads tilted toward each other-completely accidental and completely hilarious. Sheldon was slumped against the door, his face twitching slightly. Next to Penny in the passenger seat, Leonard was asleep, too, his head tilted downward and his hands shaking with each bump in the road.

Penny grinned to herself. After years of living in their world, her best friends in the world had taken a step into hers. And they'd enjoyed it. She flicked on the radio and turned to her country station, keeping the volume low so not to wake them.

"_We're giving this life everything we got and then some. It ain't always pretty, but it's real. It's the way we were made, wouldn't have it any other way. These are my people."_

Penny used to think that her people was her group of girl friends and their boyfriends; the group who she watched football with. Sometimes, she'd thought of them as the fellow waitresses, or a few other aspiring actresses that she was friendly towards. But they weren't. Her people were the four nerdy guys who'd become the best friends one could ever have.

**I had no freaking clue how to end this, so I used the reference in The Zazzy Substitution about Penny liking country music. The song's by Rodney Adkins.**

**Hope you liked it! (And wow, a friendship fic is HARD!) :D**


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